1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and associated systems for responding to end-user request for information in a computer network.
2. Description of the Background Art
The Internet is an example of a computer network. On the Internet, end-users on client computers may access various types of information resident in server computers. A server computer that provides information over the Internet is also referred to as a “web server” or a “web site”. A web site may provide information about various topics or offer goods and services. Some web sites include a search engine that allows an end-user to search on the Internet. Examples of such web sites include Yahoo, Google, and Alta Vista. A web site may also include a search engine for searching the web site. For example, an on-line bookstore may include a search engine for allowing a prospective buyer to look for specific novels available from the bookstore.
Just like in other medium such as radio and television, companies may advertise on the Internet. Advertising revenues may help pay for the development and maintenance of free software (i.e., a computer program) or a web site. Advertisements may be displayed as part of a web page or in a separate window. Generally speaking, the efficacy of an advertising campaign on the Internet may be measured in terms of “click-through” rate, which takes into account the number of times an advertisement has been clicked on (e.g., using a mouse) by end-users. The higher the click-through rate, the more effective the advertising. Because effective advertising results in higher revenue not only for manufacturers of products being advertised but also for companies who display the advertisements, increasing click-through rates is generally desirable.
To increase the chance of an end-user clicking on an advertisement, advertisers have developed “targeting techniques” to match advertisements with particular end-users. For example, some web sites employ cookies to keep track of end-user purchasing activity on the web site. This allows a web site to advertise to an end-user products that are related to those previously purchased by the end-user. A specific example of this targeting technique is to advertise a romance novel to an end-user who has previously purchased books in the same category. Some advertisers also develop end-user profiles that are based on demographic information. An advertiser may use an end-user profile to identify advertisements that may be of interest to a particular end-user.